Game Day supplies. I know the Orange & Black was not brewed for the Flyers, but it serves the purpose.

Red Wings @ Sharks, WCSF Game 1, April 29, 2011

Well that went well. It seems that the Sharks almost always play well against the Red Wings. Maybe it’s like siblings- the younger will always be trying to out do the elder, no matter how much success the younger has had. Similarly, the elder will always begin by underestimating the younger.

For his birthday, Benn Ferriero got the game winning goal in OT, with help from Red Wing Brad Stuart. That wasn’t a very nice present from Brad to Mike. It was Red Wings coach Mike Babcock’s birthday too, as Randy and Drew told us several times during the game. It made me want McLellan to start Kent Huskins on Wednesday. Wednesday is Husky’s birthday.

I hate to risk jinxing things by talking about injury but I always feel less worried about dirty play and other savagery when the Sharks meet the Red Wings. There was a little to do after Joe Pavelski got into Jimmy Howard’s personal space. Of the incident, Joe Pavelski said:

“I didn’t really think anyone was probably going off. They said I clipped him in the head there. Whatever happens, we were just going to the net and there’s going to be times like that.” -Working the Corners

I found it noteworthy that the Sharks 3rd period tying goal was scored by Joe Pavelski, deflecting a shot from Joe Thornton. They must have been in the middle of a line change. The Joes don’t usually play together. Also, Jumbo almost never shoots from so far out. It was an all around surprising play, especially since Pavs had to knock the puck almost straight down to get it in the net.

In overtime, the Red Wings got a rare 3 on 1 opportunity involving Abdelkader. The only Shark back was Wallin, though I did see someone coming in to help out pretty quickly, so it was really more of a 2 1/2 on 1 than a 3 on 1. Wallin handled it very well. Perhaps Abdelkader did not handle it so well but still, it is worth mentioning as a good job by Wallin. He also took a stick to the face for his efforts and drew a 4 minute penalty. That was absolutely awful luck for the Wings. Still, they managed to kill it off.

Only after that did Ferriero score. When I heard Randy and Drew describing the play, mentioning that Ferriero had the puck, I remember thinking “what is Ferriero doing there? Did he get power play time? Really?” I don’t think he should NOT get power play time, but as a fourth liner who only played about five and a half minutes, it seemed odd for him to be out there during or so soon after the power play.

It was a surprise-ridden game, without any maiming or fights or uncivilized behavior. I very much enjoyed it. Also, the Sharks won. That makes any game better.

But I am having trouble thinking clearly because the Flyers’ first game against the Bruins is today. I guess I am excited about it, but it feels lot like worry.